the stems: or coming in swarms, in a day 
they cut down every vine plant. Having tried 
all the remedies recommended, 1 came a-t last 
to hand-killing only. When the seeds are 
planted, at once a shingle is placed on each 
hill, and when the bug is driven under cover 
by the cool uights, early in the morning 1 go 
over every shingle, turn them nil up, kill the 
bugs and replace the shingles."Where the striped 
bugs have been for years thus treated they are 
easilv subdued. And in all cases the best 
remedy for vermin when amateur gardening 
is followed, is to kill them with the hand or 
paddle. As soon as the plants seem sate from 
the bugs, the thinning begins till at last as the 
vines get three or more leaves they are re¬ 
duced to two in a hill. As soon also as the 
vines begin to send out shoots I reduce them 
to six in the hill, and arrange their direction 
so as to cover the whole ground. When the 
vines meet each other the buds of the runners 
should be pineheit oft' to check their length 
and make the fruit, larger. But as they will 
with this trimming bear about the same 
weight of fruit, I dou’t thiuk it pays to be at 
the labor of shorteuing the side shoots, al¬ 
though thus the fruit may be made larger. 
GENERAL REMARKS. 
As the roots run iu the shade of the branches, 
they should never be moved, else the sun 
scorches them at once; nor should they be in 
auy way handled or disturbed. Let the cul¬ 
tivating go ahead of the vine and never after. 
If the wind blows over the vine, it must be at 
once righted by putting a clod on the near 
leaves so as to steady it in its upright position: 
and sticks may be set near such, so as to allow 
support to the tendrils of the vine. So cul¬ 
tivation in the evening is commendable to 
allow the roots to recover in the night before 
the sun is out again. A vine once trodden 
upon is lost for use. 
GATHERING. 
When the fruit is ripe, none but a careful, 
experienced person should enter the grounds. 
He should be armed with a Jong stick, so as 
to steady himself, aud have time to seek a 
place for his footsteps, or to place them under 
the vines in moving. Whc-u a melon is ripe it 
loses its metallic sound when thumped with 
the linger, giving back a dull sound, apparent' 
ly coming from the neighborhood ot the rind. 
They should therefore be gathered in the early 
morning as the sun gives them the semblance 
of ripeness by its daily heat. When the vine 
is vigorous and the tendril or curl opposite 
the fruit-stem is dead, the melon is ripe. W hen 
the rind seems sun-burned or the under side 
is white, you have good assurance that the 
melon is ripe. But the best test of all to the 
experienced grower is the dull thud of the 
melon. Melons should never he pressed to 
test their ripeness, as they are thus ruined. 
And when gathered they should be put iu a 
cool cellar with a few inches of vine cut with 
them, when no other fruit is on the same 
branch, aud they will keep well then for many 
weeks. When eaten, they should be cut in 
equal parts, and one half with a spoon given 
each guest, that tho best parts may be used by 
all, and the juices saved and utilized. Wheu 
the number will not allow this generosity, the 
next best way iseutthem with circular rinds, 
so that a portion of the core falls to each one, 
as that, is the best part of a good melon. 
White Hall, Ky. 
must cut short a full crop. In old soils with¬ 
out the use cf sod, well rotted manure 
from the stables, ashes and leaf mold may be 
used, taking care not to put too much in the 
hills ; for although this plaut. will stand much 
sunshine, hot manures destroy it fit ouce, as 
its whole structure requires air with its mois¬ 
ture. aud its roots are shy of the sun’s rays 
and all heating substances. 
PLANTING TIME. 
Iu this latitude I generally plant on the first 
of May. Sooner does no good; and the first of 
June, year before last, brought a good crop, 
when all my neighbors had given it up in de¬ 
mixes with other sorts most readily, it is best 
to have none but the red meats on the same 
lands. 
VARIETIES. 
At this wi'iting I have put the Ice-rind 
first, round, dark, finely mottled, with a green 
rind with a small, entirely white seed. Next 
comes Landreth’sBoss; oblong, with very dark 
green rind, with brown seeds. Third comes 
the old Kentucky Ice-rind,oblong witha light 
green rind, red meat and brown seeds. This 
melon has been kept pure iu some counties for 
more than 50 years. The large varieties are 
good for market, but inferior to the small, 
thin. Ice-rind sorts. I cultivate the Excelsior 
out muslin, calico or cotton cloth. Tear 
it into strips about one foot wide, 
and wind these iuto a roll as tightly 
as possible. Immerse these rolls iu melted 
grafting-* ax, made quite hot, until they are 
thoroughly saturated. Allow them to drain, 
and then unroll while warm, laying on some 
damp surface to cool. These can be torn into 
strips of the width desired to wind the place 
of union. This cloth, after being in the 
ground a short time, becomes rotten and 
readily yields to the growth of the vine. 
Lockport, N. Y. w - 
NEW AND RARE FRUITS. 
DR. J. STAYMAN, 
[CONTINUED.] 
PEARS. 
I have no new pears that I have fruited that 
I can recommend. The Japan hybrids are 
promising and so is the Century Pear, which 
has been bearing profusely upwards of a hun¬ 
dred years, and has not shown any symptoms 
of disease or blight. It appears to be blight- 
proof here. 
QUINCES. 
1 have two varieties of the quince that are 
worthy of mention, which are here outlined. 
Missoui Mammoth, Fig. SO.—Fruit very 
large; form roundish, ovate, conic, ribbed; 
color deep lemon yellow; surface rather 
smooth; flesh yellow, tough, pleasant, having 
a strong quince flavor. Season October to 
January. This is the largest and finest 
quince I have ever seen. Origin unknown. 
Orange Quince of Pennsylvania, Fig. 
81.—Fruit large to very large; form roundish- 
oblate, ribbed: color rich golden yellow, 
wool}'; flesh rather tough, rich, pleasant sub¬ 
acid; best. Origin, Pennsylvania. This is 
much firmer tbau the common quince. Sea¬ 
son October to November. The cut repre¬ 
sents a quince below the average size. 
St. Louis, Mo. 
MISSOURI MAMMOTH QUINCE. From Nature. Fig. 80. 
a the Cuban Queen, which spair. I may say that melons should be plant- 
-k rinds, are fair in quality, <?d Iudian corn > later tbnn b T^' aud 
•s in cool cellars, going till the only wheu the soil is warm and weeds show a 
nber in good condition The fair growth. I plant on checked surfaces 10 
id Excelsior, or Massachusetts 15 feet apart each way. according to the 
. he „ amR variety slightly varieties and their growth. The crops should 
’ . \ , ■ f - V -rpr be a little above the general level and only 
The Ice-rm ’ higher than that level to prevent water set- 
>he season ^^e smallest ^ ^ ^ ^ j put] when 
s good a gu t g . geeds are plentiful^ ft dozen or more upon 
for this melon is a sandy loam the hiU - and theu "’ lth '' l 8pafl £ i,?/, 
streams, where the roots can shovel pulverize some earth and cover the hill 
ie water, or receive the con- about half-an-incb thick, aud thou strike it 
evaporation. This melon uses well with the tool to compress the sui face aud 
and dew. T n higher locations preserve the ascending moisture. 
CHERRIES FOR THE NORTHWEST. 
In a late article in the Rural, it is stated 
that it seems to be a settled fact that the Early 
Richmond Cherry is theouly variety relied up¬ 
on for a crop in the Northwest.. It was the 
best we had at one time. Maybe it will do in 
the East yet: but here we do uot care for it, 
since we have got Carnation. Ostheim, Mont¬ 
morency Ordinaire, Montmorency fi longue 
queue, and several others which surpass it. 
These varieties are much hardier ; they stand 
our long, dry, hot Summers better and they 
mature their leaves better. Its failure to 
mature its leaves is one great fault of the Early 
Richmond, as from not having done so, it goes 
iuto winter-quarters in poor condition. There 
are now on the Agricultural College Farm a 
dozen kinds propagated by Prof. Budd, that 
will surpass the Early Richmond. 
Ames, la. J. s. 
THE KITCHEN GARDEN 
CULTURE OF MELONS 
Some people manure aud dig their land in 
the Fall, and leave the surface in a rough state 
over Winter; when Spring sets in they fork or 
lightly dig it again so as the more easily to 
level and line it off into rows or beds. Some 
merely clear it iu the Fall aud in frosty 
weather wheel or cart on the manure, to be 
dug in in Spring. Aud others leave all the 
manuring and digging to be done in Spring. 
Whichever plan we follow, we should not at¬ 
tempt to work our ground before it is 
moderately dry and mellow’. For early 
crops the driest, highest and sunniest 
spots should he selected, and the same 
places will better answer for melons, egg 
plants and tomatoes, than lower, shadier, or 
damper places. Heavy dressings of manure 
are a benefit to almost all garden vegetables. 
Deeply w orked ground, too, is of much impor¬ 
tance; but if the subsoil is poorer than that on 
the surface, wo should loosen it and keep it in 
the bottom. 1 do uot approve of burying 
manure very deep, but rather of keeping it 
within a few iuches of the surface. Iu this 
way the roots of the youugest plants reach iuto 
it, aud as they penetrate deeper, the rains 
wash down the nutriment to them. 
The watermelon, the muskmelon and can¬ 
taloupe, though of distinct geuera, are so sim¬ 
ilar in their habits that they are generally 
treated under the same head—melons. They 
are supposed to come from the East, and some 
cantaloupes are yet called Persian. They 
are certainly of semi-tropical habits, and the 
temperate climes and sandy plains of the 
South are the most favorable to their culture, 
though they may, with care, be raised in all 
these States. 
THE WATERMELON 
is in my estimation the first of all the traits 
of the world. I have cultivated it for more 
than half a century, and it has been all the 
time, and is yet, my favorite fruit. Nature 
kindly suits her products to the climate and 
the support of animal life. The watermelon 
is a diuretic and sudorific, aud holds pure 
water with sugar enough for considerable nu¬ 
trition. Taken iu its perfection, it is a 
great conservator against fevers and other 
Summer complaints. On the other hand, un¬ 
ripe, stale aud decaying, watermelons are 
very unhealthful and promotive of cholera- 
morbus and other ills. 
QUALITIES: 
symmetrical shapes; thin, brittle rinds; red 
meat, solid, and, when ripe, slightly granu¬ 
lated, sweet and juicy; seeds small and few in 
a melon. I have seen yellow-meat water¬ 
melons that were first-rate, but as this fruit 
VANIA. From Nature. Fig. 81. 
CULTURE. 
As soou as the melon plants show themselves, 
the surface should be stirred at once with a 
large kuife or narrow hoe, and the soil out 
side of the bills may be plowed with light 
shovel plows, or, which is better, with a three- 
shear cultivator, and so continue to the end, 
always killing tho weeds before they make a 
mat; otherwise the crop will fail. When the 
v iut-s begin to ran well, the hoe must he used 
where the cultivator fails to reach. 
strata will allow’. The best soil here is a Blue 
Grass green-sward heavily turned under with 
the sub-soil thrown over it, and thus left un¬ 
disturbed. Tnis will make a mellow bed 
from 18 to 15 inches deep, aud needs no fur¬ 
ther manure. But if the soil is clayey, leaf- 
mold from the forest aud leached ashes may 
be usefully sown broadcast, aud worked into 
the soil by the hoe or cultivator. Many per¬ 
sons dig holes in barren and sandy soils 
and plant in them; blit melons ran their 
roots near the surface, and manure put deep 
is wasted except as a reservoir for moisture 
always ascendiug. And when we remember 
that vine roots ran as far as the leafy 
branches, it is easy to see how such a system 
Do not cultivate more laud than you can 
manure well and take good care of. Do not 
block up the vegetable patches with fruit 
trees or bushes. Do uot scatter your crops all 
over tho lot, but keep them — for instance, 
cabbages, root crops, as carrots, parsnips aud 
oyster plaut, or peas aud beans—each as much 
TnE STRIPED RUG 
is the universal enemy of the melon genera in 
the United States, and the pests are the cause 
of so many failures. Concealing themselves 
under the loose soil, they suck up the juices of 
